LIMA - Peruvian environmental groups are demanding that the Ministry of Energy and Mines reduce to two years the deadline that local oil refineries have for reducing the level of sulfur in diesel fuel. The activists staged a protest march on Apr. 9.

The sulfur level in Peru is 10,000 parts per million, while the internationally accepted maximum limit is just 350 ppm.

The Ministry of Energy gave the refineries until 2011 to cut sulfur levels. Representatives of the National Environment Council say that is too lenient, given the serious consequences of sulfur for public health. The Council considers a four-year period more appropriate.

Michael Pollman, head of environmental affairs for the national Ombudsman Office, told Tierramérica that the treatment of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases caused by sulfur contamination in the air costs society -- and the Peruvian government -- 160 million dollars a year.

GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala will be promoted as the center for birdwatching in an effort to attract eco-tourists, Daniel Money, director of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute, told Tierramérica.

''We want the eyes of 60 million people dedicated to this hobby in the United States and 20 million in Canada to look towards our country,'' he explained.

Guatemala is home to a vast diversity of birds, with some 700 species and 83 different families of birds, according to Money.

''A birdwatcher visiting our country could see around 400 species in two weeks, including endemic and migratory species,'' he said.

As part of the promotional effort, on Apr. 9 and 10, the first International Avian Encounter was held in the department of Izabal, 295 km northeast of the capital. Bird experts from Europe, United States, Caribbean and Central and South America participated.

BOGOTA - Indians from Guatemala, Chile and Colombia are gathering in Bogotá Apr. 18-24 for the second Encounter of Indigenous Cultures, organized by the IDCT, the capital's institute of culture and tourism.

Participating are Guatemalan Maya, Chilean Mapuche, and from Colombia representatives of the Wayuu, Carijona, Sikuani, Kankuamos, Muiscas, Ingas, Aruhacos, Uitotos, Tikuna and Embera communities.

Luis Andrade, president of the Colombian Indigenous Organization, told Tierramérica that the gathering will help Colombians to appreciate the spiritual and material worldview of these ancestral peoples.

On the schedule are workshops for sharing traditions, experiences and techniques for indigenous artisans, and two debates about free trade agreements. The meeting will come to a close with a show of music, dance and singing, involving all of the invited groups.